Catania. A city where Norman castles rub shoulders with Roman amphitheatres, where the tavola caldas hum with the native Sicilian tongue, and ricotta is served with just about everything. The climate is warm, the people are warmer, and the arancini are simply to die for. Do yourself a favour and book a flight out here in the spring or autumn, when the sunshine is mellow and the Augustus Gloop family are safely at home in Düsseldorf. Once you’ve landed, here’s my starter for ten:
1) Take a street food tour
Recruit a local via AirBnb to show you the bustling markets and tucked away cafés. Cast off those morning cobwebs with a shot of espresso at a stand-up coffee bar, then prepare yourself for a food coma. Try cipollina (onions in puff pastry), caponata (eggplants in a sweet and sour sauce), arancini (fried rice balls), carruba (a woody legume with a flavour somewhere between almond and chestnut), and cannoli (crisp tubes of pastry filled with ricotta). If you’re feeling adventurous, there are also plenty of places serving carne di cavollo (horse meat). Round out the experience by exploring the fish market where you’ll find fresh oysters and the long rapier points of recently decapitated swordfish.
2) Climb Etna
Towering above the city, a constant reminder of the awesome power of Mother Nature, stands the highest active volcano in western Europe (3,350m). The AST bus heads up the southern flank of the mountain to Rifugio Sapienza (2,000m) at 8:15 every morning. Although expensive (€85), your best bet is to hire a guide, as individuals are not technically permitted above 2,900m, and you risk being sent down. The ticket price includes the cable car and four-wheel drive bus, which take you within striking distance of the summit craters. Up on the volcano rim, expect to see patches of sulphur glittering in wicked yellow relief and steam bursting from the ground like the forsaken pits of Tartarus. If she’s in a tempestuous mood, you can also hear the rumble of subterranean thunder sounding unnervingly beneath your feet.
3) Dive Etna
For a more novel way to experience Etna’s profound influence on the landscape, try diving among the lava pillars north of Catania. Leave your everyday concerns on the surface, and drift down alongside iridescent rainbow wrasse, swaying octopuses and algae-coated clams. I opted to go with Jonio Pro-Dive, as it was walkable from my accommodation, but there are schools dotted all along the east coast. If you already have your open water license, then you can bag some good deals on a guided dive around the towering basalt pinnacles. Or, if you’re new to the sport, opt for a taster session and you can go down up to 5m with your divemaster.
4) Breakfast on granita at Savia
My parents always told me I couldn’t eat ice cream for breakfast. They obviously hadn’t been to Sicily. Located on the Via Etnea beside the elegant greenery of the Bellini Gardens, Savia is the perfect place for a sinfully sweet start to the day. Saunter down at a leisurely late morning hour and order pistachio granita (a cold infusion somewhere between gelato and sorbet). A warm and yielding brioche is the perfect accompaniment. I chose a tè freddo al limone (iced lemon tea) to drink, but on reflection I think you’d be better off with an espresso. Italian coffee is hard to beat.
5) Swim beside the Isole Ciclopi
Sicily overflows with history and here at the Cyclopean Isles, one might almost imagine the prow of Odysseus winking on the horizon. It is on these shores that the great hero and his shipmates nearly became dinner for the savage, one-eyed Polyphemus. Enraged by their escape, the blinded giant hurled two great boulders at the departing ship, and there in the bay they have remained since the days of Antiquity. Small boats ply their trade ferrying visitors to and from the islands beside Aci Trezza. Cool off with a dip in the blissful blue waters, and explore the caves and inlets scattered along the cliffs.
6) Sample fresh seafood in an underground bar
Even on the most stifling Mediterranean night, you will find a cool sanctuary in the subterranean dining area at A Putia Dell’Ostello. Located just to the south of the iconic Piazzo Duomo, this bar boasts an underground river beside tables set in a pirate’s grotto. Here, the treasure is all edible. Try the mixed seafood special for an impressive showcase of local produce, including swordfish carpaccio, crab arancini and octopus dressed with eggplants, tomatoes, almonds and chilli. Visit on a Sunday night, and embrace the jovial atmosphere of a culture where the daily grind exists only in your coffee cup.
7) Take a boat tour beneath Taormina
Lying 30 miles north along the coast from Catania, the hilltop town of Taormina is famed for its Teatro Antico. Originally built by the Greeks, this ancient theatre was converted by the Romans in the second century AD from a stage for drama to one of gladiatorial combat. Drink in the town’s gorgeous clifftop panorama, then head down to Mazzaro, and take a boat tour of the intricate bays. Pause to snorkel in the glittering waters beside Isola Bella, a fairytale island connected to the mainland by a narrow path that emerges from the waves at the low tides of the Full Moon. Sit back with a glass of arancello, a Sicilian blood orange liqueur, and let the captain regale you with tales from the days of Antiquity.
8) Go canyoning in the Alcantara gorge
Formed from the runoff of Mount Etna, this narrow channel slices through a striking natural mosaic of basalt columns. The cool waters are the perfect antidote to blazing summer days. For those willing to take a dunking, there is a way to penetrate the gorge’s fast-flowing defences. A guided canyoning session will furnish you with the wetsuit, helmet and neoprene boots you’ll need to wade and scramble your way upstream. You’ll be up close and personal with the churning force of the river, battling its currents up to the gushing waterfall at the top of the route. From there, the only thing left to do is lie down, surrender to the flow, and embrace the exhilarating natural water slide back to the entrance.
9) Eat Pasta alla Norma at La Pentolaccia
As evening descends, stroll north past the Teatro Bellini and prepare to dine on Catania’s most adored pasta dish. Legend has it, the name originates with Sicilian writer Nino Martoglio, who likened the recipe’s excellence to Bellini’s famed opera. Made with tomatoes, fried eggplant and salted ricotta, it delivers a delectable umami hit that will leave you clamouring for more. La Pentolaccia serves up a rustic rendition in a homely setting. Pair with a glass of Nero d’Avola (Sicily’s pre-eminent red grape variety), and relax in the convivial buzz out on the terrace.
10) Go paddle boarding in Siracusa
An hour on the train south from Catania takes you to Syracuse (Italian: Siracusa), a 2,700 year-old settlement that was among the greatest cities in the classical Mediterranean world. To experience the coastline, take off on a stand-up paddleboard, and head north past fluted sea stacks and into caves once used as refuges by the persecuted early Christians. With the sun beaming down, the blue-green waters achingly clear, and your board slicing smoothly through the wavelets, it’s hard to think of a place on Earth I’d rather be. Afterwards, explore the island of Ortigia, including the majestic Cathedral of Syracuse, rebuilt in the Scilian baroque style after an earthquake in 1693. Take aperitivo in one of the bars on the coast at sunset, and see if you can resist the temptation to move to Italy forever. After this trip, I’m certainly considering it.